However, when he went to snatch money from the cash register, a staff member slammed the till shut on his hand and he had made a speedy retreat out of the store empty handed, prosecutor Caitlyn Thompson said.

Having been released from prison on parole just five weeks prior, Parsons was returned to jail and he appeared in court in custody to plead guilty to a charge of entering a premises with intent to commit an offence.

His barrister Robbie Davies told the court his client was the victim of drug addiction which had been behind all of his offending.

"It's a familiar and sad story," Mr Davies submitted.

Though his client came from a good family who supported him, he was homeless at the time of the offence, he said.

Judge Deborah Richards sentenced Parsons to six months in jail to be followed by three years probation which would include random testing for illicit drugs and attending drug and alcohol counselling.